This episode with TurnTo founder George Eberstadt reveals how leveraging past customers to answer prospective buyers' questions can dramatically increase conversion rates. Merchants can implement a social Q&A system on product pages to build trust, provide crucial pre-purchase information, and even drive repeat purchases from engaged past customers.
Key takeaways
Implement a social Q&A system on product detail pages to allow past customers to answer questions from new shoppers, significantly boosting conversion rates (5-11x higher for question-askers, 2-3x higher for past customers who answer).
Utilize an email-based system to reach out to relevant past purchasers for question answering, ensuring fast and reliable responses (average 8% answer rate, 1-hour average first response time).
Treat Q&A solicitation emails as marketing communications, incorporating opt-out lists and clear messaging to maintain high engagement (30% open rate, 10% click-through rate, 0.2% opt-out rate). Ensure emails to past customers contain product images and a prominent 'buy now' button, as this often leads to impulse purchases upon return to the site.
Don't rely solely on incentives for answers; goodwill and a desire to help are primary motivators for past customers. Focus on making the process easy and efficient.
Recognize that a robust Q&A section reduces the need for shoppers to sift through thousands of reviews, addressing specific concerns not always covered on product pages.
Expect to pay a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per month for a Q&A solution like TurnTo, depending on the size of your store.
Ecommerce merchants strive to answer questions from shoppers. Relevant, helpful answers presumably increase conversion rates. One company offers a solution that relies on past customers to answer questions from prospective ones. The company is TurnTo. Its founder and CEO, George Eberstadt, speaks with Practical Ecommerce’s Kerry Murdock.
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about conversion rate optimization?
Implement a social Q&A system on product detail pages to allow past customers to answer questions from new shoppers, significantly boosting conversion rates (5-11x higher for question-askers, 2-3x higher for past customers who answer).
What does this episode say about customer engagement?
Utilize an email-based system to reach out to relevant past purchasers for question answering, ensuring fast and reliable responses (average 8% answer rate, 1-hour average first response time).
What does this episode say about e-commerce technology?
Treat Q&A solicitation emails as marketing communications, incorporating opt-out lists and clear messaging to maintain high engagement (30% open rate, 10% click-through rate, 0.2% opt-out rate). Ensure emails to past customers contain product images and a prominent 'buy now' button, as this often leads to impulse purchases upon return to the site.
What does this episode say about user-generated content?
Don't rely solely on incentives for answers; goodwill and a desire to help are primary motivators for past customers. Focus on making the process easy and efficient.
What does this episode say about conversion rate optimization?
Recognize that a robust Q&A section reduces the need for shoppers to sift through thousands of reviews, addressing specific concerns not always covered on product pages.
